What’s the best lever action 30-30?

[Leathersmith]

Alright… hear me out.

 

I’m considering trying out the Cody Dixon Lever Action class at some clubs here in Texas. So I’ll need a lever action that shoots a rifle cartridge.
 

It seems like .30-30s are still relatively affordable. But I’ve never handled one. So I have no basis for comparing the different actions. I’ve shot both Marlins and Winchester clones in pistol calibers, but I’m guessing that doesn’t really translate.

 

So what do y’all like? Marlin? Winchester? Something else? Im not a Henry fan, so those are out.

 

I’d love something that I could tune up to bring a little speed to that category. I mean, I don’t expect one to perform like my Boogie rifle, but I’d like to try and slick up whatever I end up with.

 

I’m interested to hear your thoughts.

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

Marlin 336

 

Phantom

[Griff]

Possibly the Marlin 336 as it's action is somewhat smoother than the Winchester 94... But, Microgroove rifling and cast have had a tumultuous relationship... that and Winchester is a marginally stronger action and easier to carry in hand (depending on bbl length & where the balance point is).  Somewhat subjective in use however.  Truly a matter of personal choice.  With nearly 30 Winchester 94s in .30-30, my opinion is clearly tainted!  But, when my best group with my favorite is ¾" @ 200 yards, it becomes no contest.   Plus, why shoot an ugly rifle?  

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

Option 1:  Pre 64 Winchester 94.  Potentially expensive, but a reasonable price is still possible.

Option 2:  Pre 83 Winchester 94.   Not as good as the pre 64s, but still good guns, and even more affordable.  If you wanna be choosey, search for a "Sears Model 100 Ted Williams" one.  They have more "traditional" sights than many of the "regular" 94's of this era.  No hood or ramp on the front, just a blade.

Option 3:  There is no option 3, at least as far as a Winchester is concerned.  I would not pay 10 cents for a post 83 94.

Option 4:  I have to put this as 4 because I have no experience.  A Marlin.  Many people will tell you they are fine guns, and they very well could be.  I just don't know cuz I don't have one.  (I shoot left handed)  Some will tell you they are just as good, or better than my Options 1 and 2.   That being said, if I was gonna go the Marlin route, I'd be going for a used one that's C&R eligible.  (Made before 1956) No safeties, no rifling designed for jacketed bullets.  But that's just me.

 

Just my opinion.

[Wild Eagle]

I shoot a Marlin 336 in Cody Dixon.  Works fine and the action is fairly smooth. It gets a little smoother every time I shoot it.  It had only been used for hunting when I bought it, so it had only been shot about 50 times.  Once I get about 1,000 rounds through it, I'll know what, if anything, needs to be done to it.  Mine is stock, but I have been told that adding a one piece firing pin makes the action smoother and maybe faster.  I don't know since I have never levered one with the one piece firing pin.  I think the Marlin 336 or Winchester 94 would be your best choices.  Make sure that whatever you get will hold 6 in the tube.  Most Cody Dixon stages are 6 shots.  FYI the Henry only holds 5.

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

Winchester !

1894 Winchester is the Original. 

The First .

The Best .

The rest are clones or copys

& imitators !

Marlin's if you desire to put a scope on a Lever Gun .

Or just by a blot action rifle if you need a scope lol 

So Saith the Rooster 

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

Ah, I just thought of something!   Uberti is making a clone of the 94.  No safeties, no angle eject, just an honest replica of the gun as designed by John Browning.   That would be the way to get a "new 94."  I assume the out of the box quality is akin to their other Winchester replicas.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

10 hours ago, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

Marlin 336

 

Phantom

THIS! ^^^^

[Dantankerous]

Marlin 336.

 

I have two of these, one old enough to not have the cross bolt safety and besides that, both great guns... cannot distinguish any difference between the two. Both of these are JMs. Not extolling the JMs, it's just what I have.

 

I have recently seen and held a new Ruger-Marlin 30-30 and it was very, very nice.

 

Happy shopping!

 

 

 

[High Spade Mikey Wilson]

Pre 64 Winchester 94. Can still be purchased at a reasonable price, and were built to last.

[Dapper Dynamite Dick]

Pre 1927 Winchester M1894 SRC

[Frontier Lone Rider]

I like shooting Long-Range and have used Winchesters and Marlins.  

 

I have had 12 different 1894 Winchesters.  I think the newer ones are clunky in their functioning.  some say Winchester focused more on "looks" than their actions.

I shoot Marlins in competition.  They just seem to me to be made more solid and function smoother.  I have used the Marlin 1895 for Long-Range and use the Marlin 1894 CB for Pistol Caliber.  It has the deeper Ballard Groove rather than the Micro-groove in the 336 30-30.  I used the 336, I still have 10, with jacked bullets for hunting.

My favorite for Long-Range is the Marlin 336 CB in 38-55.  The 38-55 is the forerunner of the 30-30 cartridge.  Some folks thought they could improve the 38-55 and modified the cartridge to what is now the 30-30.  Naturally, these Marlin 336 CBs in 38-55 are no longer manufactured.

 

[Snake-eye, SASS#45097]

Marlin model 36.

[July Smith]

If you are set on 30-30 I'd go with either a pre 64 Winchester 94 or a pre cross bolt safety Marlin 336.  Between the two I preferred the Winchester, but the Marlin is a nice rifle too. 

 

If you have the budget for it and want to step up to a 45-70 the miroku made Browning 1886s are very nice rifles.  I might get hate for it but the Browning made winchesters are the best Winchesters IMHO, I think it is a real shame the current made winchesters all have the ugly and unnecessary tang safeties with rebounding hammers.  

 

CDL is a fun category, I just don't like how a lot of spotters (in my experience) will make zero effort to learn the pattern and only call misses, and even then a lot of them will admit they can't see that fair and just kind of shrug and make sure they are holding up the same number of fingers as the other spotters. 

[Uriah, SASS # 53822]

Marlin 336 for disassemble and cleaning it from the breech. I took a Win 94, apart years ago, before YouTube. Never again.  

[Marshal TKD, Sass # 36984L]

I will throw one in for the Marlin 336. The 336 Cowboy is a cool rifle with octagon barrel. 
There is all ways the build a custom gun route to get what you want. 

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

On 12/13/2023 at 8:49 AM, Dapper Dynamite Dick said:

Pre 1927 Winchester M1894 SRC

 

What is significant about 1927?

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

2 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

 

What is significant about 1927?

Collectors know

[sarcasmn]

I am a fan of the Marlin 336.  I know them well.  When they were jm marlins they were good but the quality fell off as the machines got older and worn out.  Micro groove rifling is hit and miss with lead bullets and was introduced to make manufacturing cheaper. 
 

Remington started out really stupid and the quality was bad.  I do have a later model 45-70 cowboy that will shoot the lights out so they got better

 

i just picked up a Ruger made Marlin 336.  Ruger took two years to release a Marlin and if my rifle is any indication, both me and my gunsmith agree they did right.  This rifle is excellent and has Ballard rifling. I plan to see how it shoots lead once it’s broken in.  

 

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

3 hours ago, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

Collectors know

 

Maybe, that's not an answer.

 

Can you enlighten those of us who are unaware of the distinction?

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

 

Just out of curiosity, has anyone any experience with the Uberti made 94's?   How is the quality?  How do they compare to a real Winchester?

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

38 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

 

Maybe, that's not an answer.

 

Can you enlighten those of us who are unaware of the distinction?

I was making a statement... Not answering the question by design

 

Don't get me wrong as I disagree with the 1927 date...but Winchesters are not my strong point.

 

Phantom

Edited December 14, 2023 by Phantom, SASS #54973

[Marshal TKD, Sass # 36984L]

6 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

 

What is significant about 1927?

The 1 millionth 94 was made. It presented to Calvin Cooliage.

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

IMO , the Marlin is much easier to maintain , the 36 and the 336 , are very close to the 1894 in function and operation 

 

Winchesters are a bit harder to take apart having owned both , the Marlin is hard to beat 

 

  CB 

[Michigan Slim]

With the bullets I cast, as well as store bought, I get much better accuracy from my Winchester 94 than I do from my Marlin. With jacketed bullets it's a dead heat.

[Possum Skinner, SASS#60697]

Since you’re wanting to try CDL, I assume you have a club nearby that allows CD, which means there are shooters there engaging in CD and therefore there will likely be shooters using Marlins and shooters using Win 94’s.  I’d suggest you talk to them and try their guns before making a purchase.

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

reckon , I was lucky , it did not matter much , on accuracy , with the Marlins or the Winchesters 

 

  lead , gas checked . or jacketed , all were pretty close 

 

  30-30 or 32 Win spc 

 

  CB 

[Rusty Mustang]

I have a 94 Trapper in .30-30., color case hardened reliever, I got it in the mid-90s, and its a (gulp) AE model, the first rifle I bought new. It's been awesome!  I've taken several deer with it and 170 grain Core-Lokts, which seem to shoot better (flatter) than Silvertips out to 100 yards, the max I've tried due to the short barrel). I do want to convert it to a rear peep (Lyman or Willams) and ditch the 4X that has been on Ironsighters with it since it was new, but it shoots so well that I've been putting it off for years.

 

My FIL has a Marlin (I think it's a 336?) in .35 Remington. It's really nice as well, but it's got a longer barrel than my 94 so it's not as easy to carry through the mid-Michigan brush we hunt in. Action wise, it's very nice. He got it several years ago at a pawn shop for $100 because there was 'something wrong with it'. Turns out it needed a cleaning and slight polishing in the action, and it's been dead reliable ever since. I think his action cycles better, but that's probably because it's had many more rounds out of it than my 94 has. I doubt I've shot more than 3 boxes of shells out of it since I bought it... even on it's first sight in I only used 3 rounds and it was dead on. 

 

It comes down to whatever feels best for you. I'm a Winchester guy, but I do love shooting his Marlin!  Like Possum Skinner said, try both out at a shoot sometime and see which-un you like better.

 

YMMV.

 

v/r,

RM

 

[watab kid]

im going to agree with phantom on his recomendation it would be mine as well 

On 12/12/2023 at 7:57 PM, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

Marlin 336

 

Phantom

 

[Marauder SASS #13056]

I always wanted a Winchester 94 as did my Dad.  Went for years just looking.  Then I heard folks say good things about the Marlin rifles.  SO I compared the two.  The Winchester is a relatively complicated design requiring good machining - only moderately good engineering.  They work but are more complicated to take down & maintain.

 

The Marlin is a simplified design that is much smoother, fewer moving parts and maybe even more reliable.  It requires good machining since it is much more efficient design. 
Note that Marlin pistol caliber rifles work great for regular SASS while the Winchester 94 doesn't do well.

I was fortunate several years ago to find a used Revelation 200 (30-30).  It is a Marlin 94 with standard barrel and no added safety.  Sold by Western Auto in the 1960's.

 

The microgroove barrels have been shown to be very accurate, but you just need to clean them well.

 

Both Marlin and Winchester made "store brand" files for chain stores.

[Dapper Dynamite Dick]

On 12/14/2023 at 7:39 AM, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

 

What is significant about 1927?

Winchesters first attempt at easing the cost of production, they got rid of the saddle ring after that year and started other streamlining production actions. Actions did not feel clunky back then and are very smooth compared to later decades.

[Hoss]

I’ve shot a lot of Cody Dixon. (My favorite category!) 

I shoot 38-55s. Less recoil than 45-70, so a tad quicker. Problem I’ve seen with 30-30 is spotters don’t always hear the hit. Especially if they are used to 45-70 thwacks! So the 38-55 is a good compromise. 
I have 2. A Marlin 336CB (has Ballard rifling) and a Uberti-Win94. I think the Marlin is the better rifle. But the 94 carbine is lighter and “quicker”.  One drawback to CD is you will likely need/want a backup rifle. Hard to borrow a CD rifle at a match if yours goes down (unlike pistol caliber rifles where everyone on your posse will offer their gun!) 

 

if you come down to TRP 5th Saturday match on 12/30 you can try both of mine out. 

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy

 

Winchester Model 1894. 26" Octagon barrel, left the factory in 1895.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hashknife Cowboy]

My favorite is my old Marlin 336 Texan from 1969.  Lots of mule deer and cow elk have fallen to this rifle.....

[Houston CAS]

Glad to hear you’re thinking about Cody-Dixon @Leathersmith after I shot with you last weekend at THSS.  Now I’ll have a better chance at Gunfighter. :)

 

Thanks again for all your tips.